BJP GIVES GITA SHOCK
Asks schools to teach Bhagawad Gita for one hour everyday
Bangalore Beat Bureau
Bangalore: The state government could be stirring a communal pot with its new order to
make it mandatory to teach Bhagawad Gita at
all schools for one hour a day.
In a circular, the government has
said the students between fifth and eighth standards should be taught Bhagawad
Gita at all primary and secondary education
schools.
A similar plan was being put forth four years
ago during the BJP-JD(S) coalition government.
But it did not come into force.
Primary and secondary education
minister Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri refused
to accept that it is a government-backed programme. “It is a private initiative, and
the government has only given an approval for
it.”
“Some math seers approached the government and requested us to allow them to
teach Gita at all primary and secondary
schools. We have asked all schools to do

that. If anyone tries to stall it, the government
will take severe action against them,” he
said.
“We allowed it as there was a representation
from math heads. If a similar request comes
from other communities we will consider
them too. We don’t mind asking schools to
teach either Bible or Quran every day,” he tried

Obamaʼs father
wanted to put
his son up for
adoption: Book

Boston: US President Barack Obama’s father
had intended to put his unborn son up for
adoption as the senior Obama tried to appease
US immigration officials who raised concerns about him having two wives as well as
his “playboy ways”, a new book has revealed.
Details about Obama senior have emerged
in a book by Boston Globe reporter Sally Jacobs. Titled ‘The Other Barack, The Bold and
Reckless Life of President Obama’s Father,’ the
biography is slated for release next week.
FULL REPORT ON PAGE 4

Rain, bad light
stall Indiaʼs
reply on day 2
Roseau (Dominica): Indian bowler Harbhajan Singh achieved his 400th Test wicket while
Ishant Sharma grabbed a five-for as India bundled out West Indies for 204 before rain and
bad light stalled the visitors’ reply on day 2 of
the third and final match here.
At stumps, India were eight for no loss, with
Abhinav Mukund and Murali Vijay batting on
six and one, respectively. India now trail by
196 runs with 10 wickets remaining in the first
innings. Only 49.2 overs were bowled on
the second day, leading to a loss of a total of
ninety-seven overs in the last two days.
FULL REPORT ON PAGE 4

Beyond Beat

NEVERTHELESS,
they fight for a cause

CMʼs special puja at Chamundi

But the move is sure to draw the ire of minority communities across the state.
Some of them said it is not the job of
the government to promote a religious agenda. It could be a government run by the BJP,
but it should not put forth the ideas of the
party in running the government they
felt.

G S Ravishankar

Kannada ﬁlm
personalities
raided in city
Bangalore Beat Bureau

Chief minister B S Yeddyurappa and medical education and Mysore in-charge minister S
A Ramadass offer prayers to the presiding deity on top of Chamundi Hills in Mysore on
the auspicious occasion of Ashada Friday today. A large number of devotees also offered
pujas on top of the hill today.

Bangalore: The income tax department today carried out massive raids against film personalities in different parts of the city.
Department officials raided the
residences and offices of producer K Manju, telefilm director and
actor Sihi Kahi Chandru, film distributor Basha, music director
Guru Kiran.
The residence of Manju is in
Jayanagar, Chandru’s residence in
JP Nagar and Kiran’s in Chandra
Layout.
The officials seized all their
documents and pored over them
to get details on any tax evasion
or accounting anomalies.
The officials did not reveal as to
what they are looking for and
seized all the documents.
The raids were still going on at
the time of going to the press.

BSY, Gowda one‑on‑one today
Bangalore Beat Bureau

Bangalore: Chief minister B S Yeddyurappa
and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda are
scheduled to have a one-on-one this evening
to discuss issues related development of Hassan district.
Gowda will meet Yeddyurappa at the latter’s official residence at 5.30 pm.
Yeddyurappa invited Gowda to discuss Hassan-related issues, officials in the
government said. Recently, Gowda had sat
on a fast to put forth his demand for better
development of his parliamentary constituency.
Gowda had alleged that the BJP govern-

ment had been discriminating against the
constituencies that have been won by opposition party leaders.
He had said development activities
had completely stopped in the last three
years since the BJP government came to power.
Gowda has fixed a deadline to the chief
minister to take up development works in his
home constituency.
Gowda has 12 demands for the BJP government, including Rs 100 crore grants for
Hassan zilla panchayat, 350 more beds to the
Hassan district hospital, commencement
of works for Hassan medical and engineering colleges, etc.

PROPERTIES WORTH OVER

`1.86 CR RECOVERED
Bangalore Beat Bureau

A campaign involving more than six lakh students across the state on the inclusion of the
disabled in the mainstream kicked off today.
The drive, over the next three weeks, will
highlight the difficulties faced by the differently abled and invites suggestions on how
to be “inclusive”
Page 5...

to justify.
There were voices opposing and supporting
the move by the government.
Kannada litterateur M Chidananda Murthy
said, “There is nothing wrong in teaching Gita
to schoolchildren. More than being a religious
text, it is a philosophical tome. Why should
anyone oppose it?”

Bangalore: Properties worth over Rs
1.86 crore that were recovered by the
South division police were put on display
in the city today.
Different police stations in the division
arrested 106 accused in cases of theft, robbery, dacoity, chain snatching and mugging.
The seized properties were put on display at the Jayanagar police station
grounds. DCP Sonia Narang inspected the
property parade.
In all, 150 two-wheelers, eight autorickshaws, five cars, one tipper lorry, one
Maruti van, one lorry and 35 gas cylinders
and gold and silver ornaments worth
lakhs of rupees were put on display.

Donʼt open vault
at temple: SC
New Delhi: The Supreme Court today restrained the seven-member committee
from opening vaults of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, which according to various estimates contains wealth worth over Rs 1
lakh crore.
A bench of justices R V Raveendran and
A K Patnaik asked the petitioner Raja
Marthanda Varma, erstwhile Prince of
Travancore, and the Kerala government
to come out with appropriate suggestions
for ensuring sanctity and security of the
ancient temple which has come to the
limelight following discovery of the huge
wealth.
The apex court while restraining the
opening of vault (B) and also the vault (A)
posted the matter for further hearing on
next Thursday.
During the arguments, senior counsel
K K Venogopal, appearing for the erstwhile prince, clarified that the temple was
a public property and no member of the
royal family claims any ownership or right
over the huge property.
“The royal family is not claiming any
ownership. It is a public temple. It is not
claiming any ownership of property.
No part of it belongs to any member of

the family. The property belongs to Lord
Padmanabhaswamy,” he told the bench.
The royal family which is the trustee of
the temple has challenged the Kerala government’s decision to take over the administration of the temple which was earlier upheld by the Kerala High Court.
During today’s arguments, the bench
observed that utmost security should be
ensured in and around the temple in view
of the discovery of the huge wealth.
Emphasising on security measures,
the bench observed, “Instead of having
their eyes on the deity or sanctum sanctorum, the eyes of many people will now
be on these kallara (vaults).” PTI

High Court blasts
home secy for not
arresting Reddy
Serves notices on DGP, state govt
Bangalore Beat Bureau
Bangalore: The Karnataka High Court
took the state government to task for not
taking action against tourism minister Janardhana Reddy and not arresting him despite several nonbailable warrants issued against him.
A division bench, hearing a public interest litigation on the issue today, served
notices on the home secretary, the government and the director general of police.
The bench said the Sandur court has issued 35 NBWs against Reddy, but no arrest has been made so far. It rejected an
affidavit filed by the secretary and said the
government has to go into the issue and
submit it a report within the next six
weeks. The PIL has been filed by advocate
G R Mohan.
The high court questioned how could
the warrants be not served on a state minister, who attended cabinet meetings
regularly and came to Bangalore often.

“He has a house in Bellary and a prominent public figure. How can he not be
reached by the police?” it questioned.
“The whole state and country have seen
his presence in numerous functions. How
can you say he is not available?” it asked.
In the affidavit, the secretary stated that
one assistant commissioner of police,
two sub-inspectors and six police constables had been placed under suspension
for failing to deliver the warrant. But the
court said, “These are lower level officials.
How could they be responsible for it? It
has to happen at the top level, including
the director general of police”, and ordered issuance of notices against the
three.
The court said, “There is no difference
between individuals in law. All are equal,
be it a minister or a common man.”
When the secretary offered to
submit the affidavit again, the bench rejected and said a detailed investigation report should be filed before it in the next
six weeks.

CITY 2

Friday, July 8, 2011

Bangaloreanʼs hand in

Movie Listings
KANNADA

South Sudan constitution

A

s South Sudan celebrates its formal birth
as Africa’s newest nation tomorrow, its constitution, in the process of being drafted,
will have a Bangalorean’s hand in it.
“South Sudan has watched the political and
constitutional developments in India with great
interest and believe that there is a lot that a
country like South Sudan can gain from that experience,” said Sandeep Shastri, pro vice-chancellor at Jain University who is helping draft the
statute of the country.
“South Sudan is looking at the experience of
democracies like India,” Shastri said.
An international consultant with the Forum of
Federations, a Canada-based think-tank, Shastri
is the only Indian involved with public debates
being held across South Sudan, a country of over
eight million people, in the run-up to framing the

Puttappa
hospitalised
Bangalore: Veteran journalist
Patil Puttappa has undegone
surgery for prostrate gland in a
hospital here and has been recovering, a doctor attending on
him said.
Puttappa (92), who has also
been spearheading a movement
for correcting regional imbalance
in the backward North Karnataka
districts, underwent the surgery
at the state run Institutue of
Nephro and Urology three days
ago.
“He is recovering. He will be
shifted to ward in another two
days” Dr G K Venkaesh, Director
of the Hospital said. PTI

constitution.
Interestingly, India’s first election commissioner
Sukumar Sen conducted elections in undivided
Sudan nearly 60 years ago.
The Republic of South Sudan that came into
being after residents of the land-locked territory
voted overwhelmingly in a referendum to secede
from the rest of Sudan, will officially celebrate
the founding of the nation tomorrow in its capital
Juba as Africa’s 54th nation.
Vice-President Hamid Ansari will represent
India at the celebrations.
Shastri said he had an intensive dialogue with
political parties, including the Sudan People’s
Liberation Movement (SPLM), the ruling party in
South Sudan, on the federal process and underlined
that federalism could be a solution to challenges
faced by multi-ethnic, multi-religious, plural so-

cieties.
Shastri, whose interest in Sudan was kindled
way back when he struck friendship with Sudanese
while studying in Afghanistan in the seventies,
said the powers-that-be in South Sudan were
looking at the Indian constitution and the Indian
experience, with a special focus on federalism.
“Like the Indian Constitution, the interim constitution does not refer to the country as federal
even though (like in India) all the features of a
typical federal system are enshrined in the constitutional document,” he said.
He pointed out to an intense debate in South
Sudan on a feature of their interim constitution
which permits the president to dismiss the state
governments, which is very much similar to Article
356 in the Indian constitution.
With capacity building a major thrust of India’s

Africa policy, Shastri plans to host a two-year MA
in public administration to officials from African
countries at Jain University, a deemed university.
“Bureaucrats, civil society activists and young
politicians are enthusiastic of looking to countries
like India as they believe that experience of
societies like India would be very useful to them,”
he said.
Some sceptics have voiced doubts that
given formidable developmental challenges,
South Sudan, whose territory is roughly the size
of France but lacks in roads and basic infrastructure, may not survive for long as an independent
nation.
But such cynicism is not for Shastri. “I would
prefer to be an `incorrigible optimist` on this
point and believe that South Sudan has a great
future as a nation,” he said. IANS

UNIQUE DANCE‑DRAMA

Hyundai
felicitates
cricketers

TO BE STAGED IN CITY TODAY

Bangalore: Indian fast bowling
trio of Zaheer Khan, Ashish
Nehra and S Sreesanth was today
felicitated by Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) for winning
the cricket World Cup after 28
years.
The three cricketers were presented the recently launched
‘Fluidic Verna’ cars.
HMIL had announced that if
Indian team could win the 2011
World Cup then the members
will be felicitated with the All
New Hyundai Verna cars.
“It gives us immense pleasure
to present the members of the
ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 winning team with the All New Verna, that bears Hyundai’s new
fluidic design philosophy and
offers best-in-class design, quality
and technology,” Arvind Saxena,
Director- Sales and Marketing,
HMIL, said. PTI

Bangalore: Trikon – The War Within, a
dance-theatre production by Mudrika Foundation for Indian Performing Arts, Bangalore,
and Shrutilaya Dance School, Singapore,
will be staged at 7 pm today at Chowdaiah
Memorial Hall.
This version of Mahabharata is a unique
presentation of an age-old story, retold in
an engrossing and seamless reverie of dance
and drama. The show was first staged in
Singapore in January.

Tiger Air to
reaunch
service

Bangalore: Tiger Airways today
announced that from October
31, it would re-launch a direct
service between Singapore and
Bangalore.
“Given its potential as a destination that attracts both business travel and leisure, we are
pleased to resume our services
to this city,” said Stewart
Adams, Managing Director of
Tiger Airways Singapore, in a
statement.
Bangalore is the fourth destination in Tiger’s India “paw
print”, following Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram and Tiruchirapalli.
The service would be launched
with four flights a week - Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and
Sundays. PTI

dance.
In the city, the dance drama will be
staging 50 artistes – dancers, theatre actors,
musicians and light technicians, both from
India and Singapore. Mudrika director Minal
Prabhu said, “It is an exciting opportunity
to be associated with this unique production
as choreographer. Earlier, with ‘Moksha
Mudra’, we had experimented with the
blending of two forms of dance –
bharatanatyam and modern contemporary
dance. This time, we have tried fusing two
Scripted by Sunita Sharma, the mix of Indian dance styles, choreographed different art forms – theatre and
production presents three strong female by Minal Prabhu of Mudrika Foundation, dance which involved long sessions with
protagonists in the narrative, the righteous and Gayatri Sriram of Shrutilaya, and the- musicians for composing the music, grueling
Gandhari, the implacable Kunti and the atrical direction by Shalaka Ranadive, the rehearsals with theatre artists and
tempestuous Draupadi. Various flashpoints dance drama showcases the epic in a new dancers from and in two countries. The exin the epic are attributed directly or indirectly perspective combining English theatre tech- perience has been both challenging and
to the actions of the three queens. Using a niques with live music and Indian classical satisfying.”

Forms for
legal
training

Bangalore: The backward classes
and minorities welfare department will train different law
graduates from the two categories
in legal administration. Those
with earnings of less than Rs
15,000 per annum and under 30
years can apply. The candidates
will be given an assistance of Rs
1,000 per month. Interested can
contact the backward classes
and minorities welfare department, Bangalore Urban district,
first floor, Podium Block, Visvesvaraya Towers.

Bangalore: The apex organisation of
sugar mills, the Indian Sugar Mills
Association (ISMA), has asked the government to lift stock holding limit on
sugar traders and permit immediate export
of another 10 lakh tonne to prevent any
crisis.
Demanding de-regulation of the industry, ISMA president Narendra
Murkumbi said the industry has had a
surplus sugar production and is burdened
with unprecedented stocks.
Most of the mills neither have adequate
storage capacities nor cash flows to manage the surplus inventories, which may
trigger distress sale, he said.
Currently, the value of stock balance
with sugar mills is approximately Rs

Meeting of
ex‑naval
personnel
Bangalore: Principal director of
naval ex-servicemen commander
MVS Kumar will visit the city on
July 18.
Arrangement
for
an
interaction with ex-naval personnel has been made at the directorate, dept. of sainik welfare
and resettlement, FD, Marshall
K M Cariappa Bhavan, Cariappa
Road.
All ex-naval personnel and
dependents have been asked to
take part from 9.30 am, a press
release said.

30,000 crore.
Despite the recent permission to export
five lakh tonnes of sugar, the opening
balance for 2011-12, would be about 60
lakh tonnes, which is about 10 lakh
tonnes more than the normative three
month consumption opening balance for
the next year.
Considering a surplus production this
year, and likely high sugar production
next year, there is a need to immediately
reduce sugar stocks held by sugar mills
and permit export of additional 10 lakh
tonnes, by removal of stock holding limit
on traders, he said.
He added that with improving international sugar prices and low domestic
ex-mill prices, it would be prudent to

permit export of maximum possible quantities of sugar immediately (July to September) to enable the stakeholders to
gain.
Murkumbi further warned of a crisis if
such export was not permitted. Due to
surplus sugar in the country and continuance of stock-holding limit on traders,
the ex-mill sugar prices are below the
cost of production.
Such a situation would adversely impact the paying capacity of sugar mills
to farmers.
With surplus sugar production
next year and lack of opportunities to
export sugar, the mills would no longer
be in a position to pay farmers, he said.
PTI

distance
education
Bangalore: The Bangalore College and Research Centre is providing training for those students
who have taken distance education courses offered by Bangalore University. Training will
be given in BA, BCom, PGDP,
PGDBM from BU and BCom and
BSC from Kuvempu University.
You can contact the Bangalore
College and Research Centres at
Mathikere, Yelahanka, Jalahalli
Cross, KR Puram and Hanumanthnagar or call 9916372961.

Station
Bangalore City
Thanjavur
Mysore
Bangalore City
Secunderabad
Bangalore City
Secunderabad
Bangalore City
Jaipur
Bangalore City
Kakinada Town
Bangalore City
Kanyakumari
Vishakapatnam
Bangalore City
Mysore City
Tuticorin City
Bangalore City
Bangalore City
Trivandrum
Bangalore City
Hubli City
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Nanded
Bangalore City
Kolhapur
Bangalore City
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Mysore Jn
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Mysore Jn
Bangalore City
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Jolarpettai
Bangalore City
Mysore Jn
Bangalore City
Salem Jn
Bangalore City
Hospet Jn

Art
Picture perfect: Homai
Vyarawalla, A Retrospective,
National Gallery of Modern
Art, 49, Palace Road, 10 am
to 5 pm The exhibition showcases photographs taken by
Homai Vyarawalla, the first
woman photojournalist of independent India and captures
the years before and after India
gained independence.
A glass apart: Glassics Fusione

Art, Pratima’s Art Gallery, 104,
Andrews Building, MG Road,
Till July 13, 11 am to 8 pm The
exhibition aims to present a
concept in glass fusion used
as a connotation of art.

BBMP receives Nagar

Gangadhar Pujar

Ratna Award from Prez

Draw!: Cartoon exhibition, Indian Institute of Cartoonists,
1, Midford House, Midford Garden, Off MG Road, Till July 23,
11 am to 7 pm American artist
Melvin Mathew is showcasing
his cartoons in a bid to expose
the art of cartooning to a wider
audience and to highlight the
talents in the Gulf region.
Build up: Aakar, Magnitude
Art Gallery, 140/13, 27th Cross,
3rd Block, Jayanagar, Till July
31, 10 am to 8 pm Aakar is an
exhibition showcasing original
paintings based on architectural wonders. These works
provide an aesthetic continuum that extends from early
civilizatios to the present day.
All for art: Tete-a-tete, Apparao
Galleries, Ground Floor, The
Presidency, 82, St Marks Road,
Till July 31, 12.30 pm to 7 pm
This exhibition comprises
works from artists spanning
three generations. It includes
sculptures by Muralidharam,
Shipra Bhattacharya, Laxma
Goud, Anjolie Ela Menon.
Group up: Cultural Connections, Gallery Third Eye,
Yemalur Main Road, Till July
31, 10 am to 6 pm. Gallery
Third Eye presents a group
show of paintings by established and upcoming artists.

A campaign to bring the disabled into the mainstream in educational institutions was
inaugurated at Kamalabai school in the city today. More than six lakh children across the
state will be part of the campaign.

Aknisree Karthik
Bangalore Beat Bureau
Bangalore: You may criticise the
Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara
Palike (BBMP) all you want, but
our city corporation has been
has been selected by the AllIndia Institute of Local Self-Government to receive the ‘Nagar
Ratna Award’ at a function in
Mumbai this afternoon.
The institute has selected the
BBMP under the individual category.
“We were selected for this
award in an individual category.
This was for the better implementation of our projects and
based on overall performance”

said, Ram Prasad, chief finance
officer, JNNURM, to Bangalore
Beat.
The first citizen of the country
President Pratibha Patil will confer the award to BBMP. Mayor
Sharadamma and deputy mayor
S Harish are already in Mumbai
to receive the prestigious award.
The All India Institute of Local
Self-Government, established in
1926, is a premier autonomous
training and research institute
in the country.
AIILSG desires to recognise
such municipal corporations that
have responded to the needs of
time and have come up with the
out-of-the-box ideas to deliver
beyond what is expected out of

them under the extant laws.
The best municipal corporations are being conferred the
“Nagar Ratna Award” for 20102011. The award carries a trophy
and a cash prize.
The AIILSG committee inspected Solid Waste Management project, implementation of e-governance projects and other
schemes in all the 65 Jawaharlal
Nehru National Urban Renewal
Mission (JNNURM) cities.
The award winners were decided by an evaluation committee
which was chaired by a retired
Supreme Court judge.
The committee also had urban
experts, professionals and some
senior bureaucrats.

BY BALRAJ

BAL‑GAME

Turn up the heat!: The Zuri,
Whitefield, July 9, 6 pm. Entry
shuts at 10 pm It’s party nonstop as DJ Ma Faiza brings
down the house with some
electronic dance music. 08066657272

Massive drive for
inclusion of disabled launched
Bangalore Beat Bureau
Bangalore: A massive campaign
termed Nevertheless for including
the disabled in the mainstream
was launched across the state
today.
The launch in the city was
held at Kamalabai school off
Queen’s Road in the city this
morning. More than six lakh
children across the state and
scores of volunteers, NGOs and
corporate houses would be part
of the campaign that is being
promoted by Fourth Wave Foundation in association with the
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan of the
state government.
Launching the campaign,
commissioner for disabilities K
V Rajanna said, “This campaign
will help bring down inequalities
among other and disabled students. Such drives will in fact
help increase the number of footfalls into schools. This will go a

long way in ensuring education
for all.”
The campaign will ask students between the fifth and
eighth standards to depict their
feelings about the including the
disabled in the mainstream. They
will put down their ideas in an
art form in A4 sized sheets, which
will be collected by volunteers
across the state.
Many corporate houses have
come forward to digitize these
images and convert the best of
them as wallpapers. The campaign is to grab the attention of
the government and force it to
pass inclusive policies. This is
also to highlight the plight of
the disabled without facilities
for them in public transport,
public places etc.
Taking part in the inauguration, school teachers Revanna
and Mallikarjun said, “When we
don’t discriminate on the basis
of caste, creed or colour, why

should disability be any different?
We have removed all those differences now, and we should do
the same with the disabled. The
disabled children too should
study with other children. This
will bring down their inferiority
complex, if any, and will allow
them to mingle in the society
easily.”
Mahalakshmi, eighth standard
student, said, “We will not look
at the disabled students differently. I don’t think we will have
any problem in playing with
them, talking to them or interacting with them. We will put
down our thoughts on the policy
of inclusion through our drawings.”
Another eighth standard student Sai Krishna said, “We have
learnt from so many movies that
we should not discriminate
against the disabled. We don’t
have any problem in including
them in our school activities.”
Gangadhar Pujar

Bangalore: A commemorative
stamp to celebrate the 101st year
of United Theological College
(UTC) of Bangalore was released
in the city today.
Releasing the stamp, chief
post master general of Karnataka
circle Yashodara Menon said,
“UTC holds the distinction of
being one of the foremost colleges in the country which has
been imparting education for
over a century. It is not just about
religion, but is also involved in
dissemination of knowledge.”
The stamp is of Rs 5 denomination and carries the façade of
the college. Rev P Surya Prakash
(retired), president of United
Theological College (UTC),
Roshan Baig, MLA, and Rev J R
John Samuel Raj, principal of
the college, and students were
present on the occasion.

Weʼll help organise next
GIM better, says BCIC

Bangalore: The Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce
has been chosen as the partner
organisation by the state government to stage its second edition of Global Investors’ Meet
planned for next year.
"We have been chosen as
partner for the next GIM by the
state government. We will work
with the government in making
the event successful and bring
in more investors to the event,"
BCIC president Vindo Nowal
said.
Nowal, the director and CEO
of Jindal Steel Works, said Karnataka is at the cusp of opportunities to grow and attract more
investments in the wake of conducive atmosphere it has.
He wanted government to
identify barren land and evolve

a mechanism for hassle-free
land acquisition for industries.
Nowal said BCIC would hold
a dialogue with the government
on offering a package of incentives for investors setting up industries in other parts of the
state.
He said the government
should learn from the mistakes
committed in the last year’s GIM
and correct them.
The BCIC would help the government in organising it much
more effectively next year.
On the acquisition of land for
industries, he said the government should constitute nodal
agencies with concerned officials to resolve problems.
“Farmers should be happy to
hand over the lands and should
gain by the process. For this,

the government should identify
only barren lands and hand
them over to industries,” he
said.
The country should move into
GST regime and promote more
steel industries, he suggested.
On Bangalore Metro rail, he
said, “It is better if it is finished
early. People are waiting eagerly
for it and this would bring down
congestion Bangalore roads to
a large extent.”
The newly elected team of
BCIC told reporters that India
would become the third largest
economy after the US and China
by 2020.
The country is fourth largest
manufacturer of automobiles
and second largest in lifts. These
opportunities should be grabbed
with both hands, otherwise they

would go to Brazil and Korea.
Nowal said except Tata Steel
and SAIL, none of the other
steel companies in the country
are competitive.
He said the mining policy has
to be tweaked and the taxes reduced. With the present high
taxes, miners hardly gained.
The government should aim
to attract industries at the taluk
level.
A lot of people are migrating
from villages to urban areas,
creating pressure on cities. With
taluk level industries, they can
stay nearer home and work in
these units, he added.
He said law and order in India
is good as compared to the situation in other countries. The
government should make use
of it to attract industries.

NEWS 4

Friday, July 8, 2011

Train, air traﬃc
disrupted due
to heavy rains
in Mumbai

Mumbai: Heavy rains continued
to lash several parts of the metropolis for the second consecutive day today, disrupting rail
and air traffic, causing inconvenience to a lot of commuters.
According to Met department
here, Colaba recorded 162.8 mm
of rainfall and Santacruz received
116 mm of rainfall from 8.30 am
yesterday to 8.30 am today.
Train services on Central railways are running late by at least
15 minutes, while traffic on Western line is late by five-ten minutes, officials said.
Road traffic was slow but there
were no snarls on any of the arterial routes. However, air traffic
was disrupted for a while this
morning on account of the incessant rains.
“Due to sudden drop in visibility of 300 mtrs all flight operations were suspended at the
international airport here between 1000 to 1017 hours. But
now it’s all normal,” a Mumbai
International Airport Limited
(MIAL) spokperson said.
Complaints of water logging
were reported from areas like
Vileparle, Borivali, Kandivali,
Malad, Andheri, Malad, Dharavi
and few other areas. No incidents
of house and wall collapse were
reported, officials said.
But over ten incidents of tree
collapse were reported.
The weather bureau forecasts,
intermittent rain or showers
would occur in parts of city and
suburbs. Heavy to heavy rains
would occur in some areas. PTI

Manjunath Sharma

Davy case: India may

make fresh move

Chief justice of Karnataka High Court J S Khehar Singh, who is also the patron in chief of legal services committee, and
Justice N K Patil, who is the chairman of the committee, resolve cases at a Lok Adalat on the high court premises recently.
It was the first time that the chief justice took part in the proceedings.

Bangalore: There was a surprise waiting
for all those who took part in the Lok
Adalat on Wednesday. Chief justice of the
Karnataka High Court J S Khehar Singh,
who is also the patron in chief of high
court legal services committee, attended
the proceedings and swiftly gave judgments.
This is the first time that the Chief Justice
has taken part in the Lok Adalat proceedings.
He was accompanied by Karnataka High
Court Judge N K Patil, who is also chairman
of the legal services committee. They had
lined up 50 cases related insurance and
claims. 45 of those cases were settled.
The cases were related to General Insurance Company and United Insurance
Company. They had come from different

most 21 months and had to sell the provisional store, which was his sole source of
income. A married man with two children,
Rao suffered financially as his immobility
closed avenues of income. At the Lok
Adalat he presented a doctor’s certificate
Lok Adalat settles
to prove that he is handicapped.
insurance cases in a jiffy
The insurance company representatives
An accident victim, who had not been said that he was a handicap because of
given the full insurance after meeting with the negligence of doctors and they had alan accident four years ago, returned home ready paid Rs 90,000 to cover his medical
a happy man after the Lok Adalat at the expenses, said his lawyer Mallaiah. The
Karnataka High Court settled his case in total insurance is for Rs 3 lakh and the
the presence of the state-run insurance company cannot pay more than they already
company.
shelled out. Chief justice of Karnataka High
Mahadeva Rao met with an accident in Court J S Khehar Singh, who is also the
2007 when a lorry hit him while riding a patron in chief of legal services committee,
moped. He was badly injured in the leg and Justice N K Patil, who is the chairman
and had to be operated upon at Sanjay of the committee, told both parties to settle
Gandhi Hospital.
the case and asked the insurance company
But after the surgery, Rao could not to pay Rs 1.1 lakh. The compromise was
bend his knees. He was bedridden for al- acceptable to both parties.
part s of the state.
The insurance companies have been
given six weeks time to deposit the amounts
with the committee within six weeks.

New Delhi: The government may make a fresh
diplomatic move with Denmark after it refused to
file an appeal in its Supreme Court for the extradition of Kim Davy, an accused in the Purulia
arms drop case, to India.
The CBI is also mulling other options to bring
Davy to trial, including through video conferencing,
after weighing other legal options.
Jorgen Steen Sorensen, Denmark’s Director,
Prosecution, also acknowledged that a case against
Davy has been made.
“...both the District Court and the High Court
agreed for example, that the evidentiary basis for
extradition is sufficient, that the double criminality
requirement of the Extradition Act is satisfied
and that the case is not time barred,” Sorensen
said in a statement last night.
In a separate statement, the Danish Foreign
Ministry asked India to “appreciate” the Danish
judiciary.
Official sources here said a diplomatic contact
with the Danish Government was necessary to
impress upon the fact that Davy alias Niels Holck
had admitted before a Danish court about his involvement in the Purulia arms drop case.
The sources said post-9/11 attacks, Denmark
had amended its Constitution thereby agreeing
to extradite any person involved in any act of
terror. The arms dropping was aimed at fomenting
terror activities mainly in Purulia in West Bengal,
they said.
India’s hopes of extraditing Davy were dashed
last night when the Director of Public Prosecutions
said that the Prosecution Service will not to seek
permission to bring the question of extradition of
Davy to India before the Supreme Court.
Sorensen said he fully understands the attention
which this case has attracted in Denmark as well
as in India.
Sorensen said: “The Eastern High Court has,
without any dissent, however, reached the same
conclusion as the District Court and the High
Court’s ruling is based on a specific assessment
of all the circumstances of the case, including
the current conditions in India.
“Against this background I do not find that the
questions involved in this case are of a nature
that will justify an application for permission to
bring it before the Supreme Court.”
In April 2010, the Danish Ministry of Justice

had decided that Davy had to be extradited to
India for prosecution for offences committed in
1995, involving an arms drop and participation in
a conspiracy to wage war against the country.
This decision was brought before the District
Court of Hillerod according to the rules of the Extradition Act. In November 2010, the District Court
ruled that this decision could not be upheld. On
June 30, 2011, the Eastern High Court affirmed
the District Court’s decision.
Both the courts, while rejecting that plea, had
said, however, on the basis of a specific assessment
of the conditions under which Davy may be expected to be detained after prospective extradition
to India, that there is a real risk that he will be exposed to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in India.
India had lodged a strong protest with Denmark
over the remarks made by the Danish court and
the External Affairs Ministry summoned the Charge
d’Affaires on Monday and conveyed in no uncertain
terms that such remarks about India’s human
rights records and prison conditions were unacceptable.
Home minister P Chidambaram also termed
the Danish High Court’s observation as “disappointing” and rejected the argument that prisoners
are subjected to torture here.
However, in the statement, the Danish Foreign
Ministry asked India to respect the verdict of
Danish courts.
The statement said the Danish minister
of justice decided that Niels Holck (Davy)
could be extradited to India for the purpose of
prosecution.

Obamaʼs father wanted to put Canara Bank opens
his son up for adoption: Book 14 branches in TN

Boston: US President Barack Obama’s
father had intended to put his unborn
son up for adoption as the senior Obama
tried to appease US immigration officials
who raised concerns about him having
two wives as well as his “playboy ways”,
a new book has revealed.
Details about Obama senior have
emerged in a book by Boston Globe reporter Sally Jacobs.
Titled ‘The Other Barack, The Bold
and Reckless Life of President Obama’s
Father,’ the biography is slated for release
next week.
“In the spring of 1961, President Obama’s father revealed a plan for his unborn
son that might have changed the course
of American political history,” Jacobs
said in an article in the Boston Globe.
The elder Obama, who was at the time
a sophomore at the University of Hawaii,
had come under scrutiny by federal immigration officials who were concerned
that he had more than one wife.
When questioned by the school’s foreign student adviser, the 24-year-old Obama insisted that he had divorced his wife
in his native Kenya.
Although his new wife, Ann Dunham,

was five months pregnant with their child
‘Barack Obama II’, Obama declared that
they intended to put their child up for
adoption.
“Subject (Obama senior) got his USC
(United States citizen) wife ‘Hapai’ (Hawaiian for pregnant) and although they were
married they do not live together and
Miss Dunham is making arrangements
with the Salvation Army to give the baby
away,” according to a memo describing
the conversation with Obama senior written by Lyle Dahling, an administrator in
the Honolulu office of the US Immigration
and Naturalization Service.
The Salvation Army had operated nearly
a dozen residential maternity homes

Leading by example

throughout the US and made arrangements for adoption through local agencies.
Dunham, who died in 1995, was 18
years old when she gave birth to Barack
Obama.
While neither Obama nor his wife put
their baby up for adoption, it is unclear
whether the young couple actually considered such a step, or the elder Obama
made the story up in order to appease
immigration officials who at the time
were considering his request for an extension of his stay in the United States,
Jacobs said.
“But his statement provides a unique
glimpse into the relationship between
the president’s parents and the fragility

S Radhakrishna

of his connection to the father whom he
would little know,” Jacobs added.
At the time that he made his statement
about adoption in spring 1961, Obama
was in the midst of applying for an extension of his stay in the United States.
He had two children in Kenya and was
facing severe financial problems.
“Obama would have wanted to present
a case that would impress immigration
authorities. A bigamist with a mixed-race
baby, if that is how authorities chose to
see him, was not likely to be the strongest
of candidates.”
University of Hawaii and federal immigration authorities were already
alarmed about Obama’s relationships
with women and also had doubts about
his marital status.
When he married Dunham in February
1961, school administrators began to
probe his status in earnest, Jacobs said.
According to Dahling’s memo, “...
(Obama) has been running around with
several girls since he first arrived here
and last summer (he was) cautioned
about his playboy ways. (Obama) replied
that he would ‘try’ to stay away from the
girls.” PTI

Bangalore: Canara Bank as part
of its national campaign under
financial inclusion opened 14
branches in Tamil Nadu recently.
The branches were inaugurated
by bank’s executive director
Archana S Bhargava. The branches opened are spread across 12
districts in Tamil Nadu. With
this, the total number of branches
has gone up to 3286, of which
834 are rural branches.
On the first day of operation,
the branches could open more
than 1,000 accounts and netted
a deposit of more than Rs 1 crore
each and microfinance loans
were distributed.
Canara Bank has opened 19
microfinance branches, has 3.51
lakh self help groups, 3.21 lakh
credit linked, and has issued 33
lakh Kisan Credit Cards. The
Bank has over Rs 70,000 crore
under priority sector lending, of
which, Rs 30,000 crore in agriculture.
Canara Bank plans another
100 branches by March 2012.

Karachi: Pakistan Cricket Board chief
Ijaz Butt had suggested that Pakistan
would go and play in India in a bid to resume bilateral cricketing ties but want a
share of the revenues from the series, a
proposal that India has straightaway rejected.
“We told them we are ready to play in
India but we should have media rights
and it could be a 50-50 affair. But they
didn’t accept the proposal,” Butt said.

Butt, in a television interview Thursday
night, said that the PCB had also
suggested to the BCCI to split the revenues
for scheduled series in March-April 2012
so that Pakistan could make some financial gains.
India had called off a scheduled future
tour program to Pakistan in early 2009
due to the Mumbai terror attacks and
this led to the PCB losing anticipated
revenues.

Butt said PCB had suggested splitting
series or sharing revenues to not only
get some compensation for the cancelled
series but to also push forward resumption
of bilateral ties with India.
He admitted that playing India meant
a financial boost for Pakistan.
“Compared to what we earn when we
play any other top country we earn many
times more if we play India,” he said.
Butt said after the World Cup semifinal

in Mohali even Pakistan’s Prime Minister
had advised that we should go and play
in India if necessary but also suggested
to the Indians to come and play a few
games in Pakistan.
“But what they say is basically a onesided affair,” he added.
Butt also explained that the PCB only
wrote to the Sri Lankan board to send its
team to Pakistan for the scheduled series
later this year. PTI

RAIN AND BAD LIGHT STALL

Jayanagara MLA B N Vijayakumar (left) inaugurates a BangaloreOne Centre at JP Nagar
third phase this morning. The MLA sat at he centre and received cheques and bills from
the customers in a unique inauguration.

ʻMore jobs for Kannadigasʼ

S Rashakrishna

Members of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike protest demanding jobs for Kannadigas at all
levels in the state. They wanted Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd to reserve 677 jobs at all the
HAL units in the city.

INDIAʼS REPLY ON DAY 2

Roseau (Dominica): Indian bowler Harbhajan Singh achieved his 400th Test
wicket while Ishant Sharma grabbed a
five-for as India bundled out West Indies
for 204 before rain and bad light stalled
the visitors’ reply on day 2 of the third
and final match here.
At stumps, India were eight for no
loss, with Abhinav Mukund and Murali
Vijay batting on six and one, respectively.
India now trail by 196 runs with 10
wickets remaining in the first innings.
Only 49.2 overs were bowled on
the second day, leading to a loss of
a total of ninety-seven overs in the last
two days.
Even as the officials seemed optimistic
despite a sharp shower interrupting play
in the post-tea session, the light was
deemed too poor for umpires to resume
play.
The poor weather apart, the facilities
at the Windsor Park could be termed
primitive as carts were used to scoop the
water from the covers.
The drainage facility is quite good but

it proved to be of little use as water from
cover-sheets took a long time to be removed.
Earlier, Harbhajan became the third
Indian and 11th overall to reach the landmark, while Ishant continued from where
he had left off on day 1, as the duo hastened the West Indies’ collapse.
Just as the West Indian innings folded
up, a slight drizzle again brought the
covers on, and an early tea was taken.
West Indies were in the middle of a revival of sorts when the gritty Harbhajan
claimed two quick wickets.
Though Harbhajan achieved a milestone, the wrecker in chief was once
again Ishant, who claimed five for 77 in
yet another inspirational display of fast
bowling.
Resuming at an overnight 75 for three,
West Indies lost two of their most experienced batsmen in a rain-curtailed opening
session.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul (23) and Marlon Samuels (9) fell to Munaf Patel and
Praveen Kumar even as Darren Bravo
(50) and Calrton Baugh (60) stood firm.

But the hosts, 128 for five at lunch, began the afternoon session with a flurry
of shots, to entertain the sparse crowd.
Baugh was the aggressor as he flexed
his arms to good effect, and no less than
37 runs came from the first four overs.
Baugh survived a caught-behind appeal
off Munaf Patel but then decided to cut
loose, crashing Ishant for three fours in
one over.
He first produced a back cut, steered
the next one over slips, and then crashed
one past the extra cover boundary.
He didn’t hold himself back against
Munaf either, managing two fours past
the slip cordons.
Meanwhile Bravo, unbeaten on 41 at
break, completed his half century when
he flicked Ishant to square leg for a single.
Bravo, though, departed to Ishant in
dramatic fashion after he had put on 59
runs for the sixth wicket with Baugh.
In a tense Sharma over, he first edged
a delivery to slips, where Rahul Dravid
caught it, but promptly indicated he
wasn’t sure if he had caught cleanly.

The replays proved that Dravid hadn’t
caught it cleanly but Bravo made little
use of it, departing in the same over
when he inside edged a catch to Mahendra
Singh Dhoni.
Bravo made 50 from 134 balls with
eight fours and this was his second successive fifty against the tourists after his
match-saving 73 not out at Kensington
Oval last week.
Baugh then found an unlikely support
in Darren Sammy as the two added 41
runs for the seventh wicket.
Sammy, as he had indicated before
the start of the match, looked to play
down the ground before hitting Ishant
for a huge six.
But Harbhajan ended Sammy’s innings,
having him caught at forward shortleg
for 20 and later, clean bowled Baugh (60)
for his 400th wicket.
Baugh played only 79 balls during his
knock and hit six fours and a six.
This is Harbhajan’s 96th Test and he
follows Anil Kumble (619) and Kapil Dev
(434) in the exclusive club of 400-wicket
takers for India. PTI

Printed and published by B M Arun Kumar vide RNI Registration No. KARENG/2010/33126. Published by SAM Global Media, # 37, 1 Floor, 2nd Main, N. R. Colony, Bangalore - 560 019. Editor: B M Arun Kumar Printed at Lavanya Mudrana, #19, 15th Cross, Thyaarajanagar, Bangalore – 560 028. All rights reserved. Reproduction or translation in any language in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
The publisher assumes no responsibility for the return of unsolicited material or for material lost or damaged in transit. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts and forums in Bangalore only.

Beyond Beat
Friday, July 8, 2011

NEVERTHELESS, THEY

FIGHT FOR A CAUSE
Bangalore Beat Bureau

t is a campaign of a humongous scale,
engaging six lakh school and college students along with corporate employees, managements and local communities. The goal is to create awareness and sensitise people about inclusion
of persons with disability in their immediate
environments.
The campaign, termed ‘Never-the-less’,
ran across 6,000 government, aided and
private schools in urban and rural Bangalore, Dharwad, Gadag and Haveri today. It
is the initiative of Fourth Wave Foundation
in partnership with Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. Over 200 colleges across Bangalore
will conduct the campaign on July 15.
The programme kicked off with art activity involving students across the state.
Those between fifth and eighth standards
were asked to depict ‘inclusion’ and ‘diversity’ and interaction with persons with
disabilities. The art work, a sketch, painting etc, on an A4 sheet. The physical art
works would be collected and displayed in
Bangalore. Some of the companies have
also come forward to digitize these works
and put them on the web.
The campaign is also supported by the
department for the empowerment of the differently abled and senior citizens; Christ
University; office of the state commissioner
for persons with disabilities; Bangalore University; Nasscom and is driven by over 1,500
volunteers, supported by 50 NGOs.
Diana Vincent Joseph, director of Fourthwave Foundation, said: “A small change of
perception can make a big difference in the
life of persons with special needs and disabilities. If we could walk hand-in-hand,
provide the same opportunities and conveniences, it can make life less of a battle
and more of a healthy challenge for all. In
addition to physical infrastructure for the
disabled, the cornerstone of this idea is for
inclusion of you and me. It is up to us to
open our minds to people with disability
and understand them for what they are.
Never-the-less is a movement to make us
look beyond their disability and the see
them for what they are capable of.”
The campaign on Saturday will involve
volutneers giving away handouts to people at public places, like railway stations,
bus-stands and malls. These handouts
contain information on how to include disabled in the mainstreatm. The handouts
and posters will ask people to take part in
an SMS campaign by sending in their suggestion on inclusion of the disabled.
“More than 800 volunteers will join the
movement tomorrow. These volunteers
have been made to go through an orientation course about a week ago. Some of the
volunteers from corporate houses were
taken through the steps over mail, as it was
impossible to gather up all those working
professionals and ask them to be physically
present for the orientation programme,” she
said.
Mphasis, IBM and other corporate houses, through Nasscom, have extended their
help for the programme.
Over the next three weeks, volunteers
will conduct programmes stressing the
necessity of bringing the disabled to the
mainstream.
At Christ Collge, one of the prominent
promoters of the campaign, students will
hold activities that highlight the difficulties

I

Eating less salt
wonʼt prevent
strokes,
heart attacks

London: There’s bad news for those who have cut
back on salt due to health concerns. A study says
eating less salt will not stave off heart attacks,
strokes or early death.
Research involving nearly 6,500 people concluded that there was “no strong evidence” that
lowering levels of salt in the diet reduced the risk
of heart disease or premature death.
These findings contradict all official recommendations and medical profession urging the
public to reduce the amount of salt they consume,
reports the journal Cochrane Review.
In fact, it found that cutting back on salt actually raises the likelihood of death in some patients
with heart problems, according to the Daily Mail.
Researchers from Exeter University say that the
benefits of cutting back on salt may have been
“overestimated”.
They looked at seven published studies involving 6,489 people. Some had high blood pressure, others had normal blood pressure and they
had all been put on salt-reduction diets.
But the authors found that there was no evidence that cutting down reduced deaths or heart
disease in either group.
And they found that patients with heart failure
who cut back on salt were actually at higher risk
of death – possibly because the change in diet is
such a shock to the body.
Lead researcher Rod Taylor, from Exeter, said:
“Perhaps surprisingly, we didn’t find any statistically significant reduction in death or cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes.”
IANS

Casting vote
causes stress
hormone levels
to shoot up

Washington: Voting in elections is stressful, even
to a point of causing hormonal changes among voters.
The level of cortisol – a hormone released
when a person is under pressure and which
helps the body cope with threats – immediately
prior to casting a vote was significantly higher than
when the same individuals were in non-voting conditions.
“It is important to understand that emotions can
affect biological processes, which in turn can influence our decision-making processes,” said Israel Waismel-Manor of the School of Political Science, University of Haifa, who led the study.
The main hormone is cortisol, also known as the
“stress hormone”. The present study set out to determine whether voting in elections is a stressful
experience, the journal European Neuropsychopharmacology reports.
The survey was conducted on the day of Israel’s
2009 national elections. One hundred and thirteen
voters just about to enter the ballot booth were
asked to provide a saliva sample to be examined
for cortisol levels, according to a Haifa statement.
The results show that the level of cortisol in individuals immediately before voting was almost
three times higher than in the following day.
The study also found that voters who said
they would vote for a party which polls predicted
will lose seats, had higher levels of cortisol than
those who intended to vote for a party which polls
predicted were to gain seats. IANS

A campaign involving more than six lakh students across the state on the
inclusion of the disabled in the mainstream kicked off today. The drive, over
the next three weeks, will highlight the difficulties faced by the differently abled
and invites suggestions on how to be “inclusive”

A college student addresses a session as Fourth Wave Foundation director Diana Joseph, second from left, looks on. The foundation has been working on the
inclusion of the disabled in the mainstream and has started a massive campaign across the state today.
faced by the disabled. Some of the students
would be made to sit on the wheelchair
atnd asked to maneuvre it, others would be
blindfolded and asked to read texts through
braille. The campaign covering Banga-

lore Urban and Rural areas would be held
on July 15.
Diana Vincent Joseph said it is also an
opportunity for many corporate houses,
schools, colleges and other institutions to

come forward and present as to how they
have adopted inclusive policies within
their organisations.
The campaign, culiminating in a half
day Conference of various stakeholders on

July 22 at Christ University will showcase
individual and institutional success stories
and set a five year agenda to promote inclusion of persons with disabilities in
mainstream society.

Washington: A man’s face might hint if
he is bad to the bone, as a new study has
found that people with wider faces tend
to be more devious and more willing to
cheat.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the US found that
men with broader faces were approximately three times as likely to lie in negotiations than their narrower-faced
peers to gain more financial benefit.
For their study, the researchers carried
out several experiments to analyse if
men’s facial structure has anything to do
with their personality traits, LiveScience
reported.
In one experiment, the researchers
measured the facial width-to-height ratio of 192 students, 115 of whom were
men, and randomly assigned them to
play either buyers or sellers role in negotiations over emails as part of a classroom exercise.
It was found men with broader faces
were approximately three times as likely to lie in the negotiation than narrower-faced men. Facial width was not
linked to either deception or trustworthiness in women.
In another experiment, the researchers analysed how willing volunteers were to cheat. They had 103 students, 50 of whom were men, and asked
them to roll a pair of dice to see how
many times they would be entered into
a lottery.
All the participants had the chance to
lie about their dice roll to increase their
chances of winning.
Men with broader faces overstated
their dice rolls by an estimated 18.6 per
cent, while narrow-faced men overstat-

ed their rolls by less than 2 per cent,
Michael Haselhuhn, who led the research, said.
“We demonstrate that men with wider
faces feel more powerful, and these
feelings of power lead directly to less ethical behaviour, including lying and
cheating. Perhaps some men truly are
bad to the bone,” he said.
However, the researchers cautioned
the public not to take their findings to extremes.
“While our findings provide compelling evidence that men’s facial structure is a reliable physical cue of the likelihood of engaging in ethically questionable behaviour, we stress that it is but

one of many factors that affect unethical judgement and action,” Haselhuhn
said.
The researchers also noted that men
with broad faces are not all bad.
“In other research, we have found that
the facial structure of Fortune 500 CEOs
predicts firm financial performance,
such that CEOs with relatively wider faces
achieve greater financial success for
their firm,” Haselhuhn noted.
“We believe that men’s facial structure
should be used as one important cue in
detecting liars and cheaters, but caution
should be taken in automatically labelling relatively wide-faced men as
bad seeds.” PTI

Washington: Want to be a mother? Then be
sure that your oral hygiene is well maintained,
as for the first time scientists have found that
women with gum disease take an average of
two months longer to conceive.
Periodontal disease, also known as gum disease, is a chronic infectious illness that occurs
when the bacteria in one’s mouth creates inflammation around a tooth and can spread into
the circulatory system.
Previous studies have linked gum disease
with type 2 diabetes, heart disease, respiratory and kidney disease, and problems in pregnancy such as miscarriage and premature
birth.
This is the first time, researcher from the University of Western Australia have found that
gum disease affects the time it takes women to
become pregnant, LiveScience reported.
For their study, the researchers monitored
a group of 3,416 pregnant women and analysed
their pregnancy planning and outcome information.
The findings, presented at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, showed that women
with gum disease took an average of just over
seven months to become pregnant, which
was two months longer than the average of five
months it took women without gum disease to
conceive.
The researchers also found that non-Caucasian women with gum disease were more
likely to take more than a year to become pregnant compared to those without gum disease.
This may be because the non-Caucasian
women appeared to have a higher level of inflammatory response to gum disease, said
Roger Hart, who led the study.
“Our data suggest that the presence of periodontal disease is a modifiable risk factor,

which can increase a woman’s time to conception, particularly for non-Caucasians.
“It exerts a negative influence on fertility that
is of the same order of magnitude as obesity.”
The researchers recommend that women
who are planning to becoming pregnant should
consult with their dentist to make sure that they
do not have any gum disease. PTI

NEWS & FEATURES 6

Friday, July 8, 2011

world briefs
AP-PTI

Pak govt may have OKed
journoʼs murder: Mullen

Washington: The abduction and the
a s k e d
subsequent murder of noted Pakistani
about what
journalist, Syed Saleem Shahzad might
reports he
have been approved by the Pakistan
was refergovernment, a top US military leader
ring it. “I
said yesterday. “It’s been reported rehave not
cently and I haven’t seen anything that
seen anywould disabuse that report,” Admiral
thing to
Mike Mullen, Chairman, Joint Chief of
d i s ab u s e
Staff, told reporters in response to a
the report
question during a luncheon with the
that the
Pentagon Press Association.
governAt the same time, the top Pentagon
ment knew
official noted that he hasn’t seen any
about this.
concrete evidence in this regard either
But I can’t,
of the Pakistan government or that of
would not
the Inter Services Intelligence, as rebe able to
Mike Mullen
ported by The New York Times recently.
walk in
“The reports that he was killed and
that here is
there were government officials who the string of the evidence that I have to
had sanctioned that,” Mullen said when conform it,” Mullen said.

A competitor takes part at the dwarf
schnauzer breed dog contest present
their animal, during the World Dog
Show, in Villepeinte, north of Paris.

Libya rebels
battle in plains
south of Tripoli
Gualish (Libya): Rebels battling Muammar
Gaddafi pressed ahead today with day two
of a NATO-backed offensive after seizing a
desert hamlet south of Tripoli and reported
gains in their push along the coast from
the east.
Reinforced with weapons from a French
arms drop and backed by NATO-led air
strikes aimed at destroying Gaddafi’s frontline armour, they attacked regime forces
in the plains southwest of the capital.
The area targeted by that offensive is
seen as strategic as it also features the garrison city of Gharyan, a government stronghold in the Nafusa mountains.
In Washington, the US House of Representatives debating an annual Pentagon
spending bill voted 225-201 today to forbid
the Pentagon from providing military equipment, training, advice or support to the
Libyan rebels.
An AFP correspondent embedded with
the rebels reported intense exchanges of
artillery, mortar and cannon fire aroundGualish on Wednesday.
NATO listed seven targets where Gaddafi’s
military equipment had been attacked, including eight armoured vehicles and military
refuelling equipment near the eastern oil
town of Brega. An anti-aircraft gun was
also destroyed near Gharyan. Eight armed
vehicles were also hit in the Zlitan area.
AFP

Syrians flee,
Friday rallies
reject dialogue

Damascus: Hundreds of people have fled
Syria’s central city of Hama, fearing a military crackdown ahead of Friday demonstrations under the banner of “no to dialogue” with President Bashar al-Assad’s
regime, activists said.
The US ambassador to Damascus was
in Hama today to express “our deep support
for the right of the Syrian people to assemble
peacefully,” State Department spokesman
Victoria Nuland said in Washington.
A senior US official, speaking on condition
of anonymity, said Ambassador Robert Ford
visited the tense city “to make contact”
with opposition leaders.
Syrian authorities have been trying to
quell protests in Hama, traditionally a
centre of opposition to central government,
and had positioned tanks on the main entrances to the city except in the north.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
said that about 100 families – or 1,000
people in total – had left Hama, where it
said Syrian troops had killed 23 civilians
since Tuesday.
The crowds leaving Hama were headed
for Salamiyah, some 30 km (18 miles) to
the southeast.
Ammar Qorabi, head of the National Organisation for Human Rights, said on
Wednesday there had been a worsening of
the security situation with the “pursuit of
search operations, assassinations and arrests
in this city.”
Hama has been a symbol of opposition
since the 1982 crackdown on a revolt by
the banned Muslim Brotherhood against
then-president Hafez al-Assad, father of
the present leader, in which some 20,000
people were killed. AFP

Russia plans to
send Olympic
torch into space
Durban: Russia is planning to send the
Olympic flame into space ahead of the 2014
Winter Games in Sochi, the deputy prime
minister said here.
Alexander Zhukov said at an International
Olympic Committee (IOC) meeting in South
Africa Thursday that Russia aims to be the
first country to take the flame into space
as part of the longest-ever Olympic torch
relay, Xinhua reported.
Zhukov said Sochi organisers also plan
to take the torch to the top of Russia’s
highest mountain and the bottom of the
world’s deepest lake.
The Olympic flame would go on a 120day, 28,000-km journey with 14,000 torch
bearers in the leadup to the Sochi games.

S Sudan to
become new
nation amid
war worries

Juba (Sudan): The people of
South Sudan finally get their
own country on Saturday, an
emotional independence celebration few thought possible
during a half century of civil
wars and oppression that left
more than 2 million dead.
Military parades and
celebrations will burst forth
tomorrow in front of dozens
of visiting world leaders. But
when that party ends,
South Sudan must face
grim realities: It will be one
of the most underdeveloped
countries on the planet, only
15 per cent of its citizens can
read and fears of renewed conflict abound.
South Sudan’s successful independence drive was made
possible by a 2005 peace deal
between Sudan’s north and
south.

However, Mullen said he has not seen
any evidence of ISI’s involvement in it.
“I haven’t seen anything that conforms
that (ISI was responsible for the killing
of the Pakistani journalist,” Mullen said
in response to a question about the recently published New York Times report
in this regard.
“I am hugely concerned about obviously his death. His isn’t the first. For,
whatever reason it has been used as a
method historically. There are others
certainly claims historically. I have seen
Pakistani officials – I just gave them a
room – who deny it,” he said.
“Certainly from my perspective, it’s
something we all need to pay our attention to including the Pakistanis. It’s
not a way to move ahead. It’s a way to
continue to quite frankly spiral in the
wrong direction,” Mullen said. PTI

Bull ride

AP-PTI

No worries
over Pak
nukes, says
Mullen

Washington: Dismissing concerns about the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, a top
Pentagon official has said that
he is confident that these
weapons of mass destruction are
safe and Islamabad has taken
adequate steps in this regard in
recent years.
“I’m as comfortable as I can
be that they have taken significant steps, including steps in recent years to improve the security
with respect to their nuclear
weapons,” Admiral Mike Mullen,
chairman of the US Joint Chiefs
of Staff, said.
At the same time he conceded
that there are limits to what he
know and to what anybody outside Pakistan knows.
“But I know that they have
invested a great deal, improved
their procedures and they take
it very seriously,” he said.
“There have been investments
made by our governments in improving security, not through
the department of defense, but
through the department of energy
to improve security through the
last several years,” he said.

Ex‑editor may
be held over
phone hacking
London: A former editor of
the News of the World is currently
facing arrest over charges of
phone hacking, even as reports
emerged that Sunday’s edition
would be the last of the 168year-old paper.
Andy Coulson, 43, has been
asked to present himself at a police station in Central London.
He could also face a perjury ¬investigation over his testimony
during the trial of a Scottish MP
who was jailed for lying in a
defamation case against the
News of the World, the Daily
Mirror reported.
Coulson is also expected to
be quizzed by police over claims
that journalists under his watch
made secret payments to police
officers.
Sources said another former
senior journalist will also be arrested. Coulson quit the daily in
January 2007 just weeks before
royal editor Clive Goodman and
private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were jailed for phone hacking. The News of the World or-

dered Mulcaire to hack into voicemail messages left on a mobile
phone belonging to a murdered
teenager, Milly Dowler, in 2002,
the Guardian reported.
Mulcaire may also have targeted relatives of British servicemen killed in Afghanistan and
Iraq.
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch
bought the newspaper in 1969
and made his foray into British
journalism.
His son James told the 200
British staff that Sunday’s edition
of the paper, which sells 2.6 million copies a week, would be its
last.
“The good things the News of
the World does... have been sullied by behaviour that was wrong.
Indeed, if recent allegations are
true, it was inhuman and has
no place in our company,” James
Murdoch was quoted as saying
by the Guardian.
“The News of the World is in
the business of holding others
to account. But it failed when it
came to itself,” he said. IANS

New York jihadist faces life term
New York: A US-born jihadi,
who wanted to attack US soldiers
in Afghanistan and Iraq, was
convicted here Wednesday.
Betim Kaziu (23), a Brooklyn
man, was convicted by a federal
jury for trying to join Islamic
militant groups and plotting to
provide them material support
to attack US forces abroad.
Like Pakistani-born Times
Square bomber Faisal Shahzad
who was jailed for life, Kazia

also faces life behind bars when
the court sentences him in autumn. During his two-week trial,
the jury found Kaziu guilty of
plotting to commit murder in a
foreign country and provide material support to terrorists.
Kaziu showed no emotion after
the verdict even as one of his
sisters began to cry. Instead, he
smiled and waved while being
escorted out of the courtroom
by US Marshals, according to

the New York Post.
He was convicted after his former friend and fellow jihadi Sulejmah Hadzovic turned witness
against him and testified about
Kaziu’s avowed radicalism.
Kaziu, who was radicalized
by the al-Qaeda propaganda on
the Internet, went to Cairo in
February 2009 to try to join AlShabbab and then traveled to
Kosovo where he was arrested
and handed over to the FBI. IANS

A calf, used as a game to amuse revelers, jumps to the arena after the running
of the bulls at the San Fermin fiestas in Pamplona, Spain.

Tool to detect
contaminants in
cow, human milk

London: Scientists have developed a method that
helps in simultaneous detection of 20 kinds of contaminants in milk from humans, cows and goats.
These three kinds of samples showed that they all
contain antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, antiseptics,
lipid regulators, beta-blockers and hormones, although
the largest number of drugs was found in whole cow
milk.
The method was developed by researchers at the
universities of Jaen and Cordoba in Spain and the Abdelmalek Essaadi University in Morocco.
“We used this methodology to analyse 20 samples
of cows’ milk, goats’ milk and breast milk from human
volunteers,” said Evaristo Ballesteros, researcher at
the University of Jaen, the Journal of Agricultural and
Food Chemistry reports.
“We found that the drug content differs according
to the type of milk,” said Ballesteros, who also led the
study, according to a Jaen statement.
Human milk too contained anti-inflammatory drugs
(such as ibuprofen and naproxen), as well as the antiseptic triclosan and some hormones.
The scientists believe the new methodology will
help provide a more effective way of determining the
presence of these kinds of contaminants in milk or
other products. IANS

New York: In another milestone
for the world’s top technology
company, Apple has announced
that its App Store has crossed 15
billion downloaded apps.
App Store now offers more
than 425,000 apps and there are
over 200 million iPhone, iPad
and iPod users in over 90 countries, according to Apple.
In a statement, the Cupertino-based tech giant said, “Over
15 billion apps have been downloaded from its revolutionary
App Store by the more than 200
million iPhone, iPad and iPod
touch users worldwide. The App
Store offers more than 425,000
apps and developers have created an incredible array of over
100,000 native iPad apps.’’

Over 100,000 apps have been
developed specifically for the
larger screen of iPad.
Apple said it has paid over
$2.5 billion till now to app developers who get 70 percent of
all revenue generated by the sale
of apps.
Apple’s apps come in 20 broad
categories, including games,
business, news, education,
sports, health, reference and
travel.
Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior
vice president of Worldwide
Product Marketing, said, “In just
three years, the revolutionary
App Store has grown to become
the most exciting and successful
software marketplace the world
has ever seen. IANS

Washington: A natural form of
Vitamin E called alpha-tocotrienol can activate mechanisms that clear toxins from nerve
cells, preventing their death following a stroke.
This process is one of three
identified so far that this form
of Vitamin E uses to protect brain
cells after a stroke. It might be
more potent than othter drugs
targeting single mechanisms for
preventing stroke damage.
Ohio State University researchers previously reported
that the alpha-tocotrienol protects the brain, post stroke, by
blocking an enzyme from releasing toxic fatty acids and inhibiting gene activity that can lead
to neuron (nerve cell) death, according to a university statement.
Its symptoms are sudden,
caused by an abrupt interruption
of blood flow to the brain. The

Alpha-tocopherol is the most
common form of vitamin E,
found abundantly in palm oil,
vitamin supplements and fortified foods.
Alpha-tocotrienol from palm
oil has up to 60 times the antioxidant activity as alpha-tocopherol. IANS

Fish oﬀer clues on How hot was
earth
50m
deadly liver cancer
London: The commonest type
of liver cancer, hepatocellular
carcinoma (HCC), is a leading
cause of deaths related to the
disease worldwide. Researchers
have now used fish to collect
new information that might help
diagnose and treat it.
Although there are several
treatment options available, they
are largely unsuccessful because
the disease is so poorly understood.
Clinical studies of patients
with HCC, combined with studies
using mice and other animal
models, have provided some
clues but many questions about
how to diagnose and treat this
deadly form of cancer remain.
Zhiyuan Gong and Serguei
Parinov from the National University of Singapore decided to
pursue these questions using ze-

brafish as a model system, reports the journal Disease Models
and Mechanisms.
Their study uncovers new information that might help diagnose and treat HCC in humans,
and shows that zebrafish are a

powerful and cost-effective model to study liver cancer, according
to a National University statement.
Previous work indicated that
cancer cells from patients with
HCC always have abnormally
high activation of a cellular pathway called Ras.
However, whether and how
the Ras pathway actually causes
liver cancer was not clear. To
focus in on this issue, Gong and
Parinov created genetically engineered zebrafish to express a
cancer-causing form of Ras
(krasV12) in the liver.
Fish having the highest expression of krasV12 died rapidly
of malignant liver cancer (mostly
within 30 days), whereas fish
with lower krasV12 expression
survived longer and did not develop full-blown disease. IANS

Beneﬁts of drinking outweigh ﬂip side
Washington: Some people continue
to drink heavily as they perceive positive effects like better conversational
and joke-telling abilities, improved
sex and more energy to stay up late
partying – despite experiencing hangovers and fights.
“This suggests why some people
can experience a lot of bad consequences of drinking but not change
their behaviour,” said Kevin King, coauthor and University of Washington
assistant professor of psychology.
“People think, ‘It’s not going to
happen to me’ or ‘I’ll never drink that
much again’. They do not seem to associate their own heavy drinking with
negative consequences,” he said.
Nearly 500 college students completed an online survey measuring
their drinking habits during the previous year, the journal Psychology of
Addictive Behaviours reports.
The survey assessed how often the

process only takes a few seconds
to shut down the affected brain
part.
Symptoms include weakness
or numbness of the face, arm
and or leg on one side of body,
inability to speak, write or grasp
spoken language, double vision
and unusually severe headache.

participants had experienced 35 different negative consequences of drinking, such as blackouts, fights, hangovers, missed classes and work, and
lost or stolen belongings, according
to a University of Washington statement.
It also gauged 14 positive effects of
drinking, including better conversational and joke-telling abilities, improved sexual encounters and more
energy to stay up late partying and
dancing.
Researchers measured the participants’ beliefs about how likely all
these drinking consequences would
happen again and how positive or
negative they were.
“It’s as though they think that the
good effects of drinking keep getting
better and more likely to happen
again,” said Diane Logan, clinical
psychology graduate student, who
led the study. IANS

years ago?

Washington: A much clearer
picture of the Earth’s temperature
nearly 50 million years ago, when
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) concentrations were higher than current
levels, has emerged.
A new study by researchers
from Syracuse and Yale Universities may shed light on what to
expect in the future if CO2 levels
keep rising.
“The early Eocene Epoch (50
million years ago) was about as
warm as the Earth has been over
the past 65 million years, since
the extinction of the dinosaurs,”
says Linda Ivany, associate professor of earth sciences at Syracuse University, who led the
study, reports the journal Geology. “There were crocodiles
above the Arctic Circle and palm
trees in Alaska. The questions
we are trying to answer are how
much warmer was it at different
latitudes and how can that information be used to project future temperatures based on what
we know about CO2 levels,” she

said.
Previous studies have suggested that the polar regions
(high-latitude areas) during the
Eocene were very hot - greater
than 30 degrees centigrade (86
degrees Fahrenheit), according
to a Syracuse statement.
However, because the sun’s
rays are strongest at the Earth’s
equator, tropical and subtropical
areas (lower latitude) will always
be at least as warm as polar
areas, if not hotter. Until now,
temperature data for subtropical
regions were limited.
The Syracuse and Yale research team found that average
Eocene water temperature along
the subtropical US Gulf Coast
hovered around 27 degrees centigrade (80 degrees Fahrenheit),
slightly cooler than earlier studies
predicted.
The new results indicate that
the polar and sub-polar regions,
while still very warm, could not
have been quite as hot as previously suggested. IANS

LIFESTYLE 7

Friday, July 8, 2011

Children are
scared of me:
Emma Watson

Despite three failed marriages, actress
Kim Cattrall says she has not given
up on the institution and hopes to
tie the knot again.
“It hasn’t put me off at all. In face,
my attitude is I’m quite hopeful. I
think I’m in a really good place and I
hope I’ll meet someone who’s in a
good place too. Who knows what
will happen?” she told Stylist magazine.
The “Sex and the City” star admits
her career can be “lonely”. So she
has learned to use her free time to
keep herself busy and stop missing
her loved ones when she is away
from home, reports femalefirst.co.uk.
“I have learned that acting is your
craft but you also need to have a life.
You need to recognise that three
months on location in the middle of
nowhere, far from your family, is very
uprooting and that you need to have
hobbies and surround yourself with
people who support you because it
can be a very lonely lifestyle,” she
said.

A

ctress Emma Watson
says that little children
sometimes get scared of
her as they think that she has
the powers of her “Harry Potter”
alter-ego and is going to cast a
spell on them.
Watson is seen as Hermione
Granger in the “Harry Potter”
franchise since the age of 10
and in the film she often uses
her quick wit and encyclopedic
knowledge to help her close
friend.
“Some little children are
sometimes scared of me because
they think I can do a spell, and
that I really am magic in real
life. And I’ve always found that
really funny, and I try and kind
of say, ‘I won’t do anything to
you. It’s OK’,” femalefirst.co.uk
quoted the 21-year-old as saying.
“Sometimes you can’t convince them, because they believe in it. They really believe
in it. They really think that I’m
Hermione in real life, which I
love. It’s funny,” she added.

KIM CATTRALL HOPES
TO GET MARRIED AGAIN

T

roubled rocker Pete Doherty,
who was jailed for cocaine possession, has been released after
serving just over a month of a sixmonth sentence.
He was sentenced to six months
in jail May 20. Though he was not
expected to serve his full sentence,
his release still comes a month earlier
than had been predicted, reports
contactmusic.com.
“On this bright sunny morning
Peter was released from prison and
thanks everyone for their valued
support whilst inside,” read a statement posted on his Albion Rooms
website.
Doherty’s manager Adrian Hunter
later used the pseudonym “Babybear” to post thank you messages
on the French Dog Blues website.
“Peter has been released as
was reported there hours ago. Long
day folks but a happy one. Many
good things done. All’s good and
peace and quiet shall now ensue. A
bit of ‘bedding in’ and reflection is
on the cards and so much the better,”
wrote the manager.
Despite being released, the singer
could face jail again soon on charges
of burglary after being accused of
breaking into a record shop in Germany and stealing a guitar.

A

ctress Reese Witherspoon
put her new, bold stomach
tattoo on show during an
outing to a beach in Malibu.
Witherspoon got herself inked
across her stomach, and revealed
the tattoo as she wore a white
bikini and denim shirt, reports
contactmusic.com.
The 35-year-old was at the beach
with new husband Jim Toth and
her two children, Ava, 11, and
Deacon, seven.
She was spotted playing with
her kids on the beach.
The actress earlier had a small
blue tattoo on her left hip.

Witherspoon S
shows oﬀ
stomach tattoo

Peter Andre doesnʼt
have time to date

inger Peter Andre says he
is not looking to get into
any relationship anytime
soon because he does not have
time to date. After separating
from model Katie Price, the singer
last dated model Elen Rivas, but
their relationship broke down in
April due to their hectic careers.
“Why should someone put up

N

icole Scherzinger, who replaced Cheryl Cole on the
US version of “The X Factor”, has praised the singer and
says she can relate to her. “She’s
lovely. We really relate - we both
find it very hard to say, ‘No’ to
the contestants; we both go at it
from the same place; we both
give heartfelt and constructive
criticism,” femalefirst.co.uk quoted Scherzinger as saying.
The 33-year-old recently said
that she was delighted to be made
a judge on the show because it
meant she had more of a voice,
and claimed Cole left the show
“for herself”.
“I have no idea. I think she
made the decision ultimately for
herself. I heard that maybe Girls
Aloud are going back on tour,”
she said.

Cheryl Cole is lovely:
Nicole Scherzinger

with only seeing me on my terms?
Any girl I see now, I can’t see it
developing into a relationship.
How can it?” he told new! magazine.
“I don’t know where I’m at
personally at the moment. (I’d
like a girlfriend) but it’s not practical. I think I’d be asking too
much from someone,” he added.

Pete Doherty
released from jail

Cherylʼs puts
£10m worth
of demands

S

inger Cheryl Cole has listed demands
that her former husband, soccer ace
Ashley, has agreed to fulfill for them
to reunite. The demands include a new
house and a dream honeymoon that could
cost him close to 10 million pounds, but
Ashley has agreed.
The former “X Factor” judge insisted
for a lavish new family home, a hi-tech
customised recording studio, a pad in Los
Angeles, a top secret wedding ceremony
abroad as well as a luxurious honeymoon,
reports thesun.co.uk.
The conditions are apart from a demand
of a ring that must be more expensive
than her previous two rings which cost
150,000 pounds and 160,000 pounds respectively.
The 30-year-old soccer ace must also
let his mother-in-law move back in with
them if he wants to reunite with Cheryl.
A confidante of the footballer said Cheryl
made it clear the list was “not open for
negotiation or compromise”.
“If Cheryl is to face public scrutiny over
taking Ashley back she wants to know he
is prepared to put his money where his
mouth is. Ash has got no choice - he may
have got Cheryl back but it comes at a significant price,” said the friend.
Ashley, 30, has already had properties
scouted in Los Angeles, and he has also
looked at holiday homes in Dubai to share
once they marry again.

LIFESTYLE 8

Friday, July 8, 2011

D

elhi Belly has rocked the box office and
an overwhelmed Aamir Khan, the producer of the adult comedy, gives maximum credit to writer Akshat Verma and director
Abhinay Deo for delivering such an entertaining
film.
Aamir enjoyed the public reaction in person
by sneaking into different theatres in the city.
“Well, I am very happy to see that people
are loving this film so much. I am going from
theatre to theatre to see public reaction. It’s
amazing to see houseful audiences laughing,
whistling in the halls,” Aamir told reporters
at the success bash here Wednesday night.
“The work that Akshat, Abhinay has done
is praise worthy and the actors too pulled off
their vision very well. I am thankful to them
for giving such a wonderful film,” he added.
If the film is produced by Aamir, the youthcentric bold drama stars his nephew Imran in
the lead role along with Vir Das and Kunal
Roy Kapoor. Made at a budget of Rs.25 crore
the film triumphed in the opening weekend
by grossing over Rs.26 crore.
At the bash, Aamir walked up to every table
and introduced all crewmembers and thanked
them personally for making the film so successful.
Buoyed by the success of “Delhi Belly”,
Aamir now wants to experiment with more
unique ideas.
“I have always experiment with films so
whenever I venture for films I make sure I
don’t repeat myself. Every time I want to challenge myself doing unique films,” said the 46year-old filmmaker who produced films like
“Peepli Live”, “Dhobi Ghat”, “Taare Zameen
Par”, “Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na” and “Lagaan”.
The invitees at the party were friends and
families of Aamir as well as the crew members
of the film.

O

scar winner Natalie
Portman and her fiance
Benjamin Millepied
have reportedly decided to call
their son Alef.
Contactmusic.com reports
that the couple have named
their first child, born last
month, after the first letter in
the Hebrew alphabet.
They have decided that their
son will adopt both their last
names, with the surname Portman-Millepied.

AAMIR THANKS AKSHAT,
Abhinay for ʻDelhi Bellyʼ success

D

irector Prem Soni says that by the time
the shooting of “Ishq In Paris” starts,
lead actress Preity Zinta would have
got her French absolutely right. He also says
that in spite of the costs involved, there was
no other city he would have shot the film in.
“Ishq In Paris”, an Indo-French project, is
Preity’s first production venture and she plays
a half-Indian half-French girl who falls in
love in one of the most expensive cities in
the world to shoot in.
“From the start, we were very sure that
Preity would get her French absolutely right
with the correct accent and pronunciation.
We did not want to dub her French dialogues.
By the time we start shooting, I am dead sure
Preity will know as much French as any
native and speak the language fluently enough
to pass off as a Frenchwoman,” said Soni.
He thinks there’s something distinctly
French about Preity’s looks and added: “So
many people have commented on how French
she looks. I couldn’t have cast anyone else in
the role.”
So expensive is Paris to shoot in that Sanjay
Gadhvi had to shelve his Katrina Kaif-Imran
Khan romance “7 Days In Paris” due to the
costs involved.
“I’m aware of this. But for ‘Ishq In Paris’, it
was always Paris or nothing. I couldn’t locate
this love story anywhere else. I started writing
the script two years ago. From the start I was
sure it had to be Paris or nothing,” says the
director who spent his formative years in
Spain.
Though the director doesn’t want to reveal
this, there will apparently be two different
versions of the film – one for the Indian and
the other for the international market.

WINFREY TO TEACH

F

school students

ormer talk show queen
Oprah Winfrey is now set
to teach students of her
school, which she established
in South Africa.
Winfrey opened the Oprah
Winfrey Leadership Academy for
girls in Henley on Klip, south of
Johannesburg, in 2007, and she
will teach a lesson titled “It’s
Life 101”. “(Teaching) should be

fun since I love to teach. And
they’re like sponges. Like 12th
graders everywhere, this first
class is both anxious and excited
about going to college,” contactmusic.com quoted her as saying.
“Most will be the first in their
family. So it’s a very big deal for
them, and they’re feeling the
pressure,” she added.

Portman, Benjamin
name their son Alef

A

ctor Johnny Depp,
who was keen to
play other characters, is reportedly in talks
to star in the fifth instalment of the “Pirates of
the Caribbean” franchise.
According to The Wrap,
the Oscar-nominated star
is “close to signing a deal”
for the movie which
would be produced by Jerry Bruckheimer again.
Screenwriter Terry
Rossio scripted part five
even before “Pirates of
the Caribbean: On
Stranger Tides” hit the
theatres, reports aceshowbiz.com.
It was reported that
Depp wanted a break from
the Captain Jack Sparrow
role so that he has time
to play other characters.
He had asked movie bosses to slow down the pace
and give a space in between the fourth and fifth.
While first movie titled
“Pirates of the Caribbean:
The Curse of the Black
Pearl” came out in 2003,
the fourth in the franchise
“Pirates of the Caribbean:
On Stranger Tides” recently hit the screens.

Depp in ʻPirates of
the Caribbean 5ʼ?

Preity brushing up French
for ʻIshq In Parisʼ: Director

S

inger Taylor Swift, who cancelled a
show in Kentucky last week, has
postponed three more concerts as
she is suffering from bronchitis. The concerts were scheduled to take place in North
Carolina and Georgia, reports contactmu-

sic.com. “It breaks my heart to miss out
on this weekend’s shows with my friends
in Charlotte and Atlanta. I would never
cancel if I thought I was physically able to
perform these shows. I am so sorry to the
fans, but I look forward to seeing you

when we come back through your towns,
which we will do,” said Swift in a press
statement. This was the first time that the
21-year-old has ever been forced to cancel
a show due to ill health. Swift hopes to resume her tour in Montreal July 14.

F

ormer couple Justin
Timberlake and Jessica Beil is reportedly
giving their relationship another chance.
“Timberlake, 30, and
Biel, 29, are quietly seeing
each other again”, usmagazine.com quoted a
source as saying.
“They have been talking
the whole time and decided
to give it another shot. Jessica really wanted to get
back together with him and
Justin realized single life is
not what it’s cracked up to
be,” the source added.
But another insider said
reconciliation won’t be easy,
adding, “they’re just spending time together and taking
things slowly”.